H. S. Prannoy reaches successive final, one step away from Indonesian Masters

H.S. Pranoy

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS)

After making the Vietnam Open Grand Prix final last week, Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy once again entered the men's singles summit clash at the $125,000 Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold in Palembang on Saturday.

The only Indian left in the competition, Prannoy hit top form to oust Malaysian ninth seed Daren Liew 21-14, 14-21, 21-14 in a 58-minute semi-final encounter at the GOR Jakabaring.

"It was a good match. Daren is a tough opponent and he looked good after beating B. Sai Praneeth Friday. But I knew I had to be steady at the net and not give him much. I took my chances and attacked and it worked," Prannoy told IANS from Indonesia.

This was the fifth seeded Indian's second win in as many meetings over Liew and the 22-year-old will take on Indonesia's Firman Abdul Kholik in their first ever match Sunday.

"The final against Firman is going to be tough for me as my body is really tired after reaching two consecutive tournament finals. But yes I need to push for one more match. That is the only thing in my mind," concluded the 43rd ranked Prannoy.